


Sorry Soul

by galaxicalkitten



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Monsters, Multiple Personalities, Other, Suicide Attempt, and to top it all off, maybe some actual self-harm too, some suicidal thoughtsss, spooky scary skeletons - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 17:58:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9777848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxicalkitten/pseuds/galaxicalkitten
Summary: Lacey knew the old saying, curiosity killed the cat, but she was no cat. All she ever wanted was to disappear. Having multi personality disorder is tough when you struggle to keep your bad side at bay. Lacey loses her consciousness and wakes up on a mountain that she planned to go in the first place. She jumps, expecting it to end her life. What happens when it doesn't?





	1. This Sorry Soul

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is a bit rough, going over some sensitive topics such as suicide, self-harm, etc.  
> You have been warned.  
> Enjoy~

What's that feeling you get in your chest when you hear or witness something that hurts?

Forget that question.

Here's a better one: How do you find a purpose in life?

Alright.

Let me rephrase that.

How can determination keep one alive? How does one's soul stay bright enough after all that they may have been through?

Is life even worth living at this point?

The world is cruel.

Maybe that's why I found myself climbing that mountain.

That stupid mountain.

I read somewhere online that whoever climbs the mountain disappears and is never found again. I always wondered what it'd be like to not exist. So I went and found out.

I had made sure to give everyone I knew, loved, and cared about a reason to hate me before I left. I did stupid things, and I hurt them in various ways. No one ever wondered why I changed in such a way. It was almost immediate. Just one day, I didn't want to be the way I was. So fragile, and nice, and sweet. It made everything harder. People could take advantage of me easier. I always forgave people for things that shouldn't of been forgiven. I forgave, but I never forgot.

I never really had suicidal tendencies or thoughts. It was more like not caring if I died or not. I did things that increased my chance of a shorter life, because I didn't care anymore. I smoked, not caring that I might get cancer and not survive, I drank, not caring whether or not I got alcohol poisoning and die from it, I cut, not caring whether I accidently hit a vein and lost too much blood or not, I pulled myself away from food, not caring whether I starved to death or not. I did everything to hurt myself, but I never really tried to die. I knew that people loved me. I knew that people cared about me. I took little caution, though.

I tried so hard to be the biggest disappointment, and I succeeded. My family quit trying to help me because they thought that I couldn't be helped. I lost all my friends because I changed so suddenly, I turned so vicious, and cold, and they didn't like it.

I've been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.

My primary side is what you see right now. The other?

A raging maniac.

I named her Chara.

Little did anybody know that Chara was the little voice in the back of my mind telling me what to do. I tried so hard for so long to ignore her. I guess I gave up trying along the way.

I took a deep breath.

I let go.

And then she took over.

I heard the screams, the sounds of knife stabbings, I could even smell the blood, but no matter how much I struggled, I could not grasp onto my soul. It was sitting there right in front of me, but I wasn't able to move.

I sat there, crying my eyes out as I heard the familiar screams of my family and friends telling me to stop when it wasn't me they were talking to.

I lost everything.

Chara took everything away from me.

After such a catastrophe, I didn't expect to be able to take my body back.

But I did.

I woke up on a mountain. A mountain I knew was all too familiar.

Mount Ebott.

The first thing I really noticed was that it was really cold.

I was cold, and confused.

I guess it was too cold for her.

As much as I was confused, I knew exactly what I wanted to do there.

I wanted to die.

I kept climbing, the higher I got, the harder it was to breathe.

I didn't have a jacket. I just hoped I wouldn't freeze to death before I got to the top.

I got to the top, dizzy from the low oxygen levels. I could almost touch the clouds, and the view was amazing.

I stared in awe for a few moments, my final moments.

I then peered down the hole that was in the mountain. It was pretty deep, there would be no way of surviving the fall.

I heard that little, stupid voice in my head again.

_Yes, go on. Do it._

"Not yet." I mumbled to myself.

I stared out into the abyss, many questions coming to mind.

Is this really what I want?

Am I thinking clearly enough to know what I'm doing?

Have I thought this through?

Ending my life doesn't get rid of the pain, it just gives it to someone else.

Is that what I want?

Chara answered them all, slowly, while I took a step towards the crater each time.

_Yes, this is what I want._

I took the first step.

_I'm thinking perfectly clearly. I know exactly what I'm doing._

One step at a time, I took another.

_I've thought it all through. I've planned this from the very beginning._

I was almost at the edge of the hole as I took another step.

_It would give the pain to someone else if I had someone._

I took another step.

_I have nothing left to live for._

I took my fifth step, I could see inside of the hole, but all I saw was black.

_There is nothing left for us here._

"I.." I stood there, looking into the darkness.

I had second thoughts, but it didn't last long when Chara spoke again.

_Do it._

"I'm sorry.." I said outloud, more to myself than anything.

I closed my eyes, and I jumped.

I saw my life flash before my eyes, and for a second, I didn't want to die.

I made my choice, though, and there was no turning back at this point.

I hugged myself tight, and before you knew it, I blacked out, and didn't know what happened after that.

I thought for sure that I'd be dead.

But this sorry soul lived on.


	2. Déjà Vu?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dazed and confused, Lacey meets an odd flower, who's there to teach her about the unfamiliar land around her, known as the Underground. When a turn of events unfold, Lacey comes face to face with an old enemy of hers again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~

I woke up in an unknown place.

Before I could survey my surroundings, I was immediately overwhelmed with the crushing feeling of an anxiety attack.

I wasn't surprised it happened. It's a normal occurrence.

Especially when I'm supposed to be dead.

Why is my soul still beating?

I gripped the soft floor around me, trying to calm down.

There was no way I could've survived that fall.

I took deep, uneven breaths, and closed my eyes.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

I calmed down slightly. Once I regained my vision again, I stood up shakily, and finally got a chance to look around.

I was laying on.. Golden flowers?

Am I in heaven?

I stumbled my way through the room, admiring the ancient-look of the place.

I went through a doorway to another room. It was mostly empty except for a single yellow flower in the middle of the room.

There was something oddly familiar about it. My thoughts were correct when Chara spoke up.

_I remember.._

"Howdy!" a voice said.

I looked around before realizing it was the flower.

The flower is talking to me.

The flower has a face.

"I'm Flowey, Flowey the Flower!" the little flower said.

"Obviously.." I mumbled.

He seemed to not hear me or just ignored my comment.

"Hmmm.." he brought up a vine and scratched what I assumed to be his head, "You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha?"

I nodded slightly, still speechless that a plant was talking to me.

Am I drunk?

"Golly, you must be so confused." he never wiped that grin off his face.

It was a bit unnerving.

"Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!" he practically yelled his way through this conversation.

"I guess little old will have to do." he spoke excitedly.

"Ready?" he asked.

I stayed silent, hating myself for not being able to say anything.

I made the smallest nod.

He stared at me for a few seconds, it felt like he was staring into my soul, and I almost thought I had to say something, but he just continued on.

"Here we go!"

It was suddenly incredibly hard to breathe. There was a giant wind swirling around the both of us, like a tornado, we were in the middle of a tornado out of leaves.

A glow of purple caught my eye, I looked down at my chest. There was something very bright on my chest sticking halfway out of it. It was shaped like a heart. Not like an actual human heart, the shape that we used to think that hearts looked like.

I noticed that it was inching its way out of my chest, and I was starting to freak out. I tried to reach for it, but I couldn't move.

I felt.. Different without the heart. Almost like I was actually empty. It was a weird feeling, it wasn't painful, but it made me a little uneasy.

Chara had some advice.

_Close your eyes._

I closed my eyes.

_Open._

I opened my eyes, and I was in a completely different place. It was just me, my heart, and Flowey. We were surrounded by darkness.

What I didn't notice was the girl behind me.

"See that heart?" he spoke more quietly, I could hear his voice echo throughout the area.

The heart looked even brighter in the sea of dark.

"That is your soul, the very culmination of your being!"

I glanced at him to see that he was staring back at me.

"Your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV."

He saw my confused face, and knew exactly what I would've asked, if I could find my voice.

"What's LV stand for?" I finally found my will to speak, and asked the question he was waiting for.

He grinned, "Why, love, of course!"

_I somehow don't entirely believe that._

What is Chara on about now?

"You want some love, don't you?" he asked.

He didn't give me enough time to answer, "don't worry, I'll share some with you!" he winked, I rolled my eyes. When he noticed that I began to cooperate a bit more, he smiled even wider.

"Down here, love is shared through…" he thought for a second, "Little white… Friendliness pellets."

_Is that so?_

"Are you ready?"

_He's lying. They aren't friendly, he isn't friendly._

I can't trust Chara anymore, not after what happened last time.

"Move around! Get as many as you can!" he coached me.

I didn't need to move, as they were already aiming toward me.

I let them pass through my soul, then I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest, it was unbearable.

_What did you expect?_

I bit my tongue and held in my scream, I always knew how to be quiet.

_I'm not surprised, you were always stupid._

It was all too much, I fell to my knees, whimpering.

" **You idiot.** " I looked up to see him grinning maniacally, sharp teeth and everything.

I heard a childish giggle behind me.

I turned around to see myself staring back at me.

I stood up slowly and she copied.

I circled around her and she did the same.

She had demonic red eyes and jet black hair.

She had the same insane smile as Flowey.

She was my twin.

My other self.

She had a voice that caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.

"Are you having a bit of Déjà Vu?" she spoke menacingly.

Shivers ran down my spine.

She was Chara.


	3. The Offering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara makes an offer that Lacey refuses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~

It was like the whole world was against me.

My enemy was standing right in front of me, amused at my pain and astonishment.

I even gained a new enemy, and it's a flower.

Who knew a flower could be an enemy.

I watched my glimmering soul grow dimmer, weakened by the wounds that Flowey had inflicted.

I felt myself grow weaker by the minute, and I realized that I was back on the ground.

Every breath I took caused pain in my chest.

Chara kneeled next to me, watching my soul as well.

"You're dying, Lacey." she sighed, still smiling.

"Oh.. Really?" I wheezed sarcastically.

Her smile faltered for a split second before reaching from ear to ear again.

"I'm gonna take over now, okay?" she tried to grab my hand.

I knew exactly what she meant by "take over."

"N-No!" I yanked away my hand before she could even touch it. I wasn't having any of that.

"It's gotta happen sooner or later," She shrugged, "it's the only way you'll survive."

"We both know I don't want to survive it." I reminded her.

"Come on," her patience was wearing thin, "give life a chance, yeah?"

"I gave it many chances, and you ruined them!" I growled.

She put her hands up defensively, grinning, "we all make mistakes."

"It wasn't a mistake," I croaked, I could barely see straight as I grew weaker, "it was a choice."

"Okay," She admitted, "but I regret my choices. Whenever I take over, I do bad things. I've practically ruined your life, I took away everything you loved. I made your life worse, if it wasn't worse enough. I can't help my actions," she looked me in the eye, "and I know I shouldn't be forgiven, I simply can't be, but please.. You have no idea how deeply sorry I am for doing what I did, I am so terribly sorry." it almost looked genuine, but I didn't believe it.

Flowey was getting impatient, "Chara! Are you done with your monologue yet? She's at 1 HP."

They both exchanged looks, then Chara looked back at me.

"Ah, screw it." she jumped on top of me, straddling me, grabbed my hair and yanked my head back. She fumbled around for a few minutes until I felt something sharp and cold against my throat.

It was a knife.

Is this how I was gonna die?

From my alter ego?

"Give me your soul!" she snarled, pressing the blade harder against my throat.

I hissed in pain, and shook my head.

"So be it!" she lifted her blade up, ready to stab me, "I'll just rip it from your chest myself."

I squeezed my eyes shut, and embraced my death.

I waited for it.

But nothing happened.

"On second thought.." she pondered, "I've got a better idea." I opened my eyes slowly and looked at her questioningly as she continued, "I don't want you to get what you want, and you want to die, so I'm not gonna kill you. I'm just gonna hurt you really, really bad." she started laughing maniacally, and Flowey soon joined her.

Insanity was laughing in my face.

She brought the tip of the blade to my stomach and pressed down on it, I winced and kicked her away, but that only encouraged her more.

I stood up and saw her running towards me with the knife, I moved out of the way, barely dodging it as it cut a part of the sleeve of my shirt and just nicked some of the skin. I hissed as it stung.

She whipped around and drove the blade into my side. I screamed in pain and gripped her arm as she twisted the knife even deeper.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw vines move around us and they wrapped around my hands. The vines threw me down to the ground and pinned me there.

I struggled much under the grasp, but I couldn't escape.

I called for help.

But nobody came.

"So, how about that offer, huh?" she smiled, "You let me take control of your soul, and you won't have to endure this pain any longer. Whaddya say?"

My vision was blurred and my brain was jumbled.

What do I do in this situation?

Flowey spoke up, "Chara, she's losing blood quickly. You don't want her dead, do you?"

"The clock's ticking." Chara said impatiently.

My soul started hovering towards us and was swirling around Chara's head.

She grinned mischievously, "guess I'll just take it, hm?"

I groaned, and tried reaching for my soul, forgetting that I was tied up by vines.

After a little bit of struggling, I started feeling.. Different.

I didn't know how to explain it. I felt extreme temperature changes. I felt insanely hot, but it didn't bother me.

"Ow!" Flowey squeaked, immediately letting go of my arms.

Chara groaned, "what's the matter?"

I looked at Flowey to see that the vines that had captured me were badly burnt.

"What the hell happened to you?" Chara asked, grabbing a vine and inspecting it.

"I-I.. I don't know.." Flowey responded, confused.

They both looked at me.

I took a shaky breath, and raised up my hands to aim at them.

I didn't know what I was doing, but at the same time I did.

I had a theory.

An unbelievably stupid theory.

But it was worth a try.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened.

Chara gasped, "y-your eyes.."

My eyes had changed from the familiar emerald green to a deep blue. It was a significant change, and hard to go by unnoticed.

What was happening?

It was the start of my newly found powers.

I always grew quite a liking to fire.

I held my breath, and then flames had engulfed my hands and fire was shooting out of them.

I had lit Flowey partly on fire and both of them got shot into the abyss until I lost sight of them.

I calmed down and felt my hands again. I grabbed my soul and stuck back in my chest.

I felt immensely dizzy all of a sudden, and incredibly drained.

I should use my powers as little as possible.

I held my head and fell over. I looked around, I could see that I was back in the room that I met Flowey in.

I was too weak, I laid down. I could see the blurry outline of someone who I didn't recognize as anyone I knew. They were saying something to me, but it was inaudible.

The last thing I saw was them walking over to me, and picking me up before I fell into a deep sleep.


	4. The Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey, still alive and well, meets a friendly goat person, then during the night, she has a nightmare within a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~

I woke up in my bedroom with my head pounding.

I almost thought everything that had happened was a dream until I looked around.

It was not my room.

I groaned and rubbed my eyes.

I tried to remember what happened to get me here but I couldn't think all too straight.

I sat up and winced as I felt a pain in my side.

I remember now.

I looked down and realized that I also had a new shirt on.

I feel violated knowing that someone changed my clothes, I was always insecure growing up.

I lifted my shirt up part way and inspected the damage.

I had bandages wrapped around my waist up to my stomach. It wasn't the best work but it kept me from bleeding to death.

I pulled my shirt back down and got out of the bed slowly.

I didn't take the time to explore the room as I went to the door.

I had to get out of here.

The door creaked as I opened it. I stood there, a little annoyed, before seeing the women in front of me.

"Oh!" I jumped at the sudden voice, "I was just about to knock."

I was confused, and scared.

She was not human.

She was some.. Goat looking person. She had droopy ears, and short horns on her head. She had a pie in one hand.

"I found you passed out on the floor." she continued.

I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything.

"Oh my, I'm sorry," she smiled, "I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins."

"L-Lacey." I introduced myself.

I forced a smile to be nice.

"I figured you might be hungry," she inched her way in the room. I kept my distance, "I made my famous Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie, I, uh," she looked down at the pie, "I didn't think of asking if you liked Butterscotch or Cinnamon, or if you had any allergies to them, I hope you don't. I was too excited to ask, you're the first human to fall down here in a long time."

My smile dropped a little.

"In a long time?" I questioned.

"Yes, they never usually pass the barrier," she paused for a few seconds, noticed my confused face, and continued to elaborate, "the barrier is what's keeping us stuck here from the surface, where you came from. It keeps us separated."

"It's always been like that?" my curiosity grew.

She waved away my question, "it's a long story, that's for another time. Would you like a tour of the place?"

"S-Sure." I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get to hear all of it, but hopefully I would eventually.

"I'll just set this right here." she put the pie down on the end table next to the bed.

She held out her hand and I took it hesitantly.

She led me through the place explaining a little bit about the Underground. I didn't pay much attention to her as I was looking at the various creatures as we walked by. I could feel her eyes on me but I ignored it and acted like I didn't notice.

There were multiple traps laid throughout the Ruins, none of them worked that properly, though.

"I come through here every day, waiting for a human to fall," she spoke, glancing at me, "today was my lucky day, I guess."

"I-I guess." I agreed, with a nervous chuckle.

It wasn't my lucky day.

We came back to where we started. It was a rather large building, and made of purple bricks.

"This is my home," she explained, "now it's our home."

"O-Our home?" I didn't want to live here, let alone even be in the Underground at all.

"Yes! You will live here now, there is no way to go back to the Surface"

My heart sank. I can't go back?

"Now, follow me. I'll show you your room." she held out her hand, and I took it.

She led me past the entrance and down the hall. She went to the first door on the left and opened it.

"Here we are!"

This was where I had first woken up in.

"I'll give you time to settle in. I'll be in the other room, reading on my rocking chair." she patted my head and left, closing the door behind her.

I fixed my hair and huffed.

What mess have I gotten into?

I explored the room.

There was a bed at the far right of the room. At the end of it was a little box of toys, and next to the bed were stuffed animals. Along the same wall was a wardrobe, and a dresser. On the floor next to the dresser were shoes of various sizes.

It seems that I wasn't the only one who had this room.

There was a picture frame on the dresser. I picked it up, and looked at it. It was of a girl, younger than me. She had short, brown, messy hair.

The only thing that creeped me out were her bright red eyes.

Just like..

"Chara.." I breathed.

Could this be her?

I felt dizzy and laid down in the bed. It was pretty comfy, so it was easy for me to fall asleep.

The sleep was not pleasant.

It was that same dream again.

No, not a dream.

A nightmare.

I trudge through a blizzard to see someone at the end of it.

I don't know who it is. They're just a shadow.

I try to move closer but I can't.

I can't move, I can't see anything through the snow.

I can't breathe. It's like something is strangling me.

It's that shadow.

I still can't see its face. It's all a blur as I slowly die.

But before I die, I wake up.

I thought it was the end of my nightmare until I saw that shadow at the corner of my room.

I stare at and it stares back at me.

I'm frozen in fear.

"You wish to die, do you not?" it spoke, it's voice echoing around the room.

"Y-you're not real." I say, my voice shaky.

"Oh darling, but I am," he goes back to his question, "you wish to die?"

I nod slowly.

"Then why do you struggle when you come close to it?"

I thought for a bit.

That was a good question.

Why do I struggle for my life when I don't even want it?

"Are.. Are you going to kill me..?" I asked.

"Oh no, I'm not gonna kill you."

I let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm just gonna watch you suffer. I will hurt you in ways you've never been hurt before. I am capable of killing, and I will, when the time comes, but no matter how many times you beg for death, it won't come. I won't let it."

Before I had time to react to the threat, I woke up again.


	5. The Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey confronts Toriel about wanting to leave the Ruins. The only way to do that, though, was to go through Toriel, which she did, brutally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~

I got up quickly - too quickly it seems. I hissed in pain from my old wound.

I knew exactly what I needed to do.

There's apparently no way to get back to the surface, but there must be a way to at least leave the Ruins, right?

I made my way through the house until I found Toriel where she said she would be.

I didn't even give her time to speak.

"How do I leave the Ruins?" I asked.

"You.. You can't go back." she was caught off guard from the question.

I was prepared for that answer.

"No. I don't want to go back. I want to leave the Ruins," I smiled sweetly before continuing, "you said I couldn't go back to the surface, but you didn't say anything about leaving the Ruins. There's a whole Underground that I want to explore."

"I-I have to tend to some things.. I'll be right back." she got up, I tried to grab her, but she slipped from my grasp before disappearing.

I sighed, frustrated, before following her from a distance to what I guessed was the basement.

She noticed I was following her, and stopped. I almost ran into her.

"You wish to leave, yes?" she turned around to face me. Her face was more serious than normal, and sad, "At the end of this hallway is a portal to the rest of the Underground. Every human that I have ever let out has died. There's no hope for you living either, so what I'm doing is logical. I'm going to destroy it."

I stood there, flustered, while she walked away from me.

"L-Logical? That is everything but logical!" I argued, "What if I happen to survive, huh?"

She chuckled darkly, "that'd be quite the miracle."

"I'm not gonna be stuck here with you!" I spat, "Let me through." I shoved past her but was thrown at the wall, and I fell to the floor.

"Stupid child." she growled, and walked away while I was too dazed to get up.

"Child?" I got up and made my way back to her.

I zoomed past her. My eyes switch from the perfect green, to the cool blue, and I brought up a wall of fire to block our path.

She seemed surprised about my powers, but her expression quickly changed to anger.

"Very well." she said as my soul was ripped from my chest and was brought into battle. I blinked, and we were in the arena.

I was able to dodge the first attack and I learned that I had quick reflexes but no strength.

How am I supposed to beat her?

_Kill her._

My head hurts.

I got knocked back by another of her attacks.

_Kill._

I get thrown up in the air and dropped back down.

_Kill._

My sanity dropped.

_Kill._

The fire died down.

_Kill._

All powers had left my body. Only rage remained.

_Kill._

My eyes turned blood red.

I wasn't me anymore. I lost all touch with my consciousness, I lost connection to my soul.

I lost myself completely.

It wasn't me in control of my body anymore.

It was Chara.

Kill.

With one swift movement, Chara leaps at Toriel, and stabs her in the chest with a knife.

Toriel coughs up blood, then goes limp.

"Have a nice life." I said.

No. Not me.

Chara.

Chara walks away from Toriel's corpse confidently, anxious to get out of the Ruins.

I scream and cry into nothingness.

 _NO!_ I cry out. I don't want to go through this again. Please don't let me go through this again.

Chara makes it to the portal. Flowey sits before it.

Chara smirks, and crosses her arms, "it's good to be back."

_No._

I rake my nails up and down my arm as I dread the pain that's to come.

"Shall we?" Flowey says, holding a vine out towards the portal.

"Oh, you're not comin' with." Chara says.

Before Flowey could ask questions or protest, Chara cuts him in half.

_No.._

This is not how I want to be known.

Chara makes way to the portal, and goes through it.

The other side holds cold temperatures, and a dark forest.

The trip disorients Chara, and she almost falls flat on her face. She catches a tree before she lands. It would be a soft fall, though; there's snow everywhere.

I scream in anger again.

I can't believe I let her get the best of me!

I punch the invisible floor.

I'm just flying through space.

I can't punch anything but myself.

So I do.

_Stupid._

I look around.

All I see is darkness.

All I feel is emptiness.

It's unbearable.

I cover my face as tears well up in my eyes.

I let out a cry, my sobs echoing throughout the nothingness.

I cried for help.

But nobody came.

I curl up, and hug myself tightly.

There's nothing I can do.

So I sleep, and I give up.


	6. Almost Forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara meets her old skeleton "frenemy," Sans, and from the get go, he's already working on a way to cure Lacey of her. He'll need the help of a scientist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~

Chara trudges through the snow, shivering slightly.

The wind howls around her as she looks through the blizzard. Forests are on both sides and the path is somewhat clear except for the occasional pile of snow here and there.

Her ears perk up to the sound of another’s footsteps. She then shakes her head to herself, assuming it’s the echo of hers.

She comes across a long, thick stick, but decides to leave it be. She steps over it and continues on until she hears a loud crack.

She turns around and notices the stick, broken in two, and nobody near it but her.

She didn’t break the stick, and the wind sure as hell didn’t.

She resumes on the path, increasing her pace.

Chara makes it to a short bridge with a wide, easy to fit through gate.

She raises her eyebrow at how poorly made it is but before she moves through the gate, she hears footsteps coming up from behind her.

She slowly reaches down her side to meet the hilt of her knife.

The footsteps stop.

“Human.” it speaks, “Don’t you know how to greet a pal?”

Chara lets go of the hilt, knowing all well who it is.

“Turn around and shake my hand.”

Chara turns around slowly. The being in front of her holds out his gloved hand, and she takes it hesitantly.

He grips onto it; Chara tries to pull away, but he doesn’t let her. She looks from their hands up to his face, and his familiar white pupils aren’t there.

Before Chara could do anything, she was thrown to a tree, getting the breath knocked out of her.

“Chara.” he spoke, taking slow steps to her.

“Sans, wait.” Chara says to the skeleton. Her eyes widen as she sees a sharp bone getting thrown her way, she dodges and hides behind a tree.

“You came back?” she hears the sound of a Gaster Blaster forming.

Chara stays quiet, she quickly jumps up the tree, and climbs up to a branch where she sits.

She hears the footsteps of Sans walking around the tree.

He looks up to see Chara’s fake emotion of fear covering her face.

He narrows his pitch black eyes, “why have you come back?”

“Missed you too,” she huffed then jumped down from the tree, “I came back to.. To apologize.”

He knows her too well to believe her lies anymore.

“Good one,” he finishes charging his blaster up, “try again. The truth this time.”

She searched her brain for a reason he shouldn't kill her, but couldn't find any. 

“Well?” he quickly got impatient with her and shot at her. She dodged out of the way, the ray just grazing her shoulder. 

Chara hissed in pain, “wait! I didn't choose to come here, this body did!” she gestured to herself.

“Why did you take it then, if you didn't want to come back?” he questioned, his suspicion raising as she frantically looked for a way out of this. 

She couldn't.

“Uh, I-I-I..” she struggled to form words as he drew nearer, and suddenly, she was speechless. 

He chuckled, “what happened to you? Turn soft?” Chara’s blood boiled at the question, “Last time we saw each other you were on the genocide route murdering a whole town.” he let a second go by, “Actually, no,” she met his eyes and narrowed hers, knowing exactly what he was going to say, “the last we saw each other, I killed you.”

“I’m not the one who’s soft, it’s this person that I’ve taken control of. I haven’t gotten rid of her fully it seems.” they stared at each other, her hoping that he would put the blaster away, but he never did.

“I’d rather meet her instead. Bring her back or-”

“Or what?!” she exploded in anger, “gonna kill me? C’mon, you missed those shots on purpose.” she smirked, “you could never kill me, we were best friends. If not, more than that.”

He growled, “you’re treading on some thin ice there. Don’t cry for my help when that ice breaks and you start drowning.”

“Aww, what’s wrong? Did I touch an old wound?” she pouted, wiping an invisible tear from her face, “It must of been so hard.”

Her taunting was cut short when he threw her at another tree, knocking the breath out of her.

“I may not be able to kill you,” he says while throwing her at another tree, “but I can hurt you.” he throws a sharp bone and it stabs her in the shoulder, pinning her to the tree. Chara screams in pain, and for a moment, her eyes flicker from red to green, then back to red. Sans noticed.

“But then again,” he charges up the blaster, “I killed you once, so I can do it again, right?”

She coughs up blood, and hangs still, too weak to move without pain shooting through her shoulder.

She braces for the death that is about to come when they both hear a familiar voice, booming from the poorly made gate, “SANS!” it was Sans’ brother, Papyrus.

He stomps up to the both of us, “what are you doing to that poor human?”

Sans was silent for a moment, thinking on whether to tell his brother or not that she was Chara, and not just some ‘human’. Papyrus wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box, and it was obvious that he didn’t realize that the so called ‘human’ was the one who had beheaded him in the previous timeline. Not even the red eyes told him.

There was a reason for that.

When the timeline reset, all the memories of the tragedies were washed away from almost everyone in the town, and only few people kept them. That being Sans, Alphys, and Asgore.

After the reset, they made a truce to never speak of it again for fear of the memories flooding back to the others, but now that Chara was back, what should he do?

Papyrus breaks his train of thought, speaking more quietly, “Sans?”

Sans’ white dots in his eyes come back as he looks up at the shivering form before him. He then realized how bad of shape he had put her in. 

Letting his feelings crawl their way back into his soul, he finally speaks, “my bad.”

He pulls the bone out of her shoulder, earning another yelp from Chara.

“What’s gotten into you?” Papyrus looks at Sans, “didn’t we say not to hurt anymore humans?”

“Said my bad.” he repeats.

Papyrus sighs, “alright.. I have to head back to work, you get her patched up.” he storms off before Sans can say anything else.

“It’s different now?” Chara guessed out loud, gripping her shoulder.

Sans looks down at her, “yep, I had to reset the timeline to get everyone you killed back,” he narrows his eyes at her, “including my brother, mind you. There’s always a consequence to doing it.”

He leads her down the path to Snowdin while explaining more, “but this new timeline did start with the same rule as the other, find human, capture human, kill human, take soul, you know all that. You’d be surprised to hear that a human changed that rule, actually.”

“Oh? Who?” she asked, they stopped at the entrance to Snowdin and Sans took a look at her shoulder.

“Well,” Sans starts as he wraps a piece of cloth around her shoulder, “her name was Frisk.”

“Frisk,” Chara echoes slowly, “huh.”

He finishes touching up her shoulder. They walk in silence for a while until Chara notices where they were going.

She stops abruptly, “wait, you can’t take me to her! She remembers, doesn’t she?”

Sans turns towards her, “yes, which is why I am taking you to her. She’ll know what to do with you.”

“Nuh-uh! She’ll probably poison me or somethin’, she’s a scientist!” Chara backs away from Sans as he steps forward.

Sans rolls the white dots in his eyes, “she can hardly hurt a fly. Plus, since she’s a scientist, she can help you.”

“Help me? I don’t need help!” she spat.

He growls and grabs her arm and starts dragging her through the town to Alphys’ lab, ignoring her protests.

She doesn’t give up on trying to pull her arm out of his grip.

“So,” he starts, “what’s her name?”

“Huh?” she asks, puzzled.

He nods at Chara, “the.. Body, er, soul, I guess.”

“Lacey.” she answers before going back to her plan of freedom.

“Ah, pretty.”

“What?” she questions, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

“Oh, nothing.” he grins and yanks on her arm to receive another yelp.

Before Chara knew it, they were in front of the lab.

“No, no, no.. Please don’t.” She pleaded until it got on Sans’ nerves.

He reeled her around and shoved her into a tree and pinned her to it, “you’re going whether you like it or not!”

With that, she was silenced.

She wanted to fight back, but somehow something prevented that.

Sans goes inside, her following slowly.

“Alphys?” he calls out while Chara shuffles her feet anxiously.

After a few seconds went by, they hear rustling and muffled talking behind a door.

“Wait here.” he says before disappearing behind the door.

He trusts her to stay?

She looks all around thinking on whether she should book it and run.

She bites her lip, and looks back at the door that doesn’t seem like it’s going to open any time soon.

She hears the shaky, stutterings of Alphys, and Sans trying to calm her down. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, though.

She should run. Oh, she should, but no matter how many times her body was telling her to move, she couldn’t.

Could it be that her courage had dropped so low that she didn’t want to face the consequences if she was caught, like she used to be able to?

Or could it be Lacey’s doings? Maybe Lacey’s soul was preventing her to do the things Chara was capable of doing. Maybe she was still awake, silently plotting her way out.

Just like when they were outside the laboratory.

“You’re going whether you like it or not!”

She immediately stopped her pleading at that, unable to struggle anymore.

Until her thoughts came to one question.

‘Where would I go?’

In her scattered thoughts, she didn’t notice the scientist and skeleton coming out of the room.

The first voice she hears pulls her out of her brain.

It was Alphys, “oh, and Sans, y-your brother c-came to see me t-today, he said t-that you were.. O-Oh?” she trails off when she sees me.

No one says anything for a few minutes.

“Oh.” she says again, shakily, “who.. Who’s t-this..?”

Sans sighs and goes over to stand next to Chara, “you know who this is.”

“B-But.. But..” she grabs his arm and drags him away from Chara, “It c-can’t be,” she breathes, “you.. She’s..” Alphys brings her voice down to a hushed tone, “You killed her!”

“I did,” he shrugs, completely understanding how she felt, “she’s back. Tadaa.”

During this, Chara stays quiet, something she doesn’t usually do. Sans notices this, too, glancing at her occasionally, waiting for a smartass comment or smug remark, but it never came.

“W-Well..” Alphys starts slowly, “T-Then something w-went w-wrong. S-She s-shouldn’t be h-here..”

Another question popped in little Chara’s head.

‘Would they really kill me?’

Chara tensed up, and balled her hands into fists.

She took a step back, preparing for escape if it ever came to it.

But of course, Sans notices everything. He’s kept a watchful eye on her the whole time. Sans shoots her a look, and she stops moving, but is unable to relax herself.

“Well doc?” Sans asks, walking back over to Chara and rests his hands on her shoulders.

“What do we do?”


	7. A Chance at Redemption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Alphys figure out a cure for Lacey's tainted soul. Lacey is awakened from her deep sleep to finally meet the being who she's been seeing in her dreams. Then she wakes up for real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~

Chara should of ran when she had the chance.

She paced around the empty room in which Sans and Alphys decided to lock her in, for now at least.

She rammed her shoulder into the metal door once more, hoping to make just the slightest dent.

She didn't make a dent, but maybe she could at least loosen its hinges if she hit it enough.

She backed away from the door, then rammed it again, starting to produce a bruise on her arm.

Chara was determined to get out.

By the fifth time she was running at the door, it opened, and she instead ran into a wall.

'Freedom!' she thought to herself, but before she could do anything she was grabbed by a strong grip and was being dragged down the hall.

She was struggling to get free of the hands until she was brought up to her feet and her ruby eyes looked up to an angry Sans.

"U-Uh.." Chara stammers, "I w-was-"

"Trying to escape!" Sans cuts her off. She could sense the invisible steam coming out of his ears, if he had any visible ears.

He yanks her to where she's in front of him, "go."

He continues pushing her along until they make it to Alphys's laboratory, which of course held Alphys herself, as it was her "natural habitat."

Chara peers over Alphys's shoulder from afar, and what she sees disconcerts her.

A syringe?

"Sup, doc," Sans greets her, "you have it ready?"

She looks at Sans and glances at Chara, "y-yes. You c-can g-get her r-ready. I-I still h-have to f-finish s-some things."

"Wait, what?" Chara asked, and continued to do so as Sans kept pushing her into a room with plenty of electronics and a bed with straps.

"What's going on? What's happening? What are you doing?" she frantically hounded him with questions, "Sans? Please, what's going on? What are you going to do? Sans-"

He slaps his hand over her mouth, "would you _please_ shut up!" he growls, and once again, she's silenced.

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, noticeably frustrated with her from the start.

She stares at him, waiting.

"Lay on the bed, please."

She slowly strolls over to the bed, "may I ask what you are going to do to me?"

"Don't worry about it." he smiles.

She lays in the bed and he goes over to her. He starts to tie her down with the straps; she starts to struggle again.

"Please," he starts again, "don't make this much more difficult than it needs to be."

She lets out a frustrated huff, "stop being nice to me!"

He ignores her and heads for the door.

"No! Don't you dare leave me at that! I don't understand!" she continues talking to herself even when he's gone, "I don't understand.."

"Okay, doc," Sans speaks lowly, "how does this work?"

"W-Well," Alphys starts explaining, "this s-shot should w-weaken h-her enough to r-reach, er, w-what's her n-name?"

"Lacey."

"Y-Yes, and a-after we h-have c-contacted her, w-we s-should b-be able to b-bring her b-back with j-just a few inflictions o-of p-pain. L-Let's just h-hope she's n-not a m-mass murderer a-as well."

Sans sighs, "they are complete opposites."

"Y-You're s-sure?" Alphys asks nervously.

"Yes."

"O-Okay. I-I also m-must s-say that c-contacting L-Lacey m-might be difficult. I-It c-could take a while. A f-few d-days, w-weeks, months e-even."

Sans shrugs, "it'll be worth it," he holds the door open for Alphys, "c'mon, let's do this."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Lacey was in a deep sleep. Almost eternally, that's what she wanted.

But things don't always go the way you plan.

"Lacey."

She hears her name being called over and over.

Dazed, she looks around to find she is still floating in the void. The only light being the purple from her soul.

She's not surprised nor confused. She's not angry nor sad. She's emotionless.

She looks around, slightly hunched.

She almost didn't see the skeleton in front of her.

"You're.." she starts, her voice echoing into the void.

_The one from your dreams?_

It speaks but it's mouth doesn't move. It's voice echoed as well but in her head.

_Telepathy is a precious thing._

"Who are you?" she asked monotonously.

_A blast from the past you could say. Or is it my name you are wondering?_

"Both."

_W. D. Gaster. But please, call me Gaster._

Lacey makes a noise of acknowledgement but otherwise doesn't say anything.

_You're disappointed._

Lacey stays silent, staring off into space.

_Wonderful things are on their way to you._

She looks at his deranged and cracked face.

_And not so wonderful things._

"Like?"

_Me._

She sighs, "I'm not scared."

_You will be._

"Oh yeah?"

_I think it's time for you to really wake up._


End file.
